Images of Hurricane Milton seen from space give an idea of what awaits Florida. The southeastern US state is expected to be hit overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
Impressive images that suggest the worst. Hurricane Milton, described as “extremely dangerous”, is heading straight for Florida, as shown this Tuesday, October 8 by the satellites of NOAA, the American agency responsible for the study of the ocean and the atmosphere.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has classified Milton as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale – after having previously been classified as Category 5, the highest.
Florida’s ‘worst storm in a century’
Milton could be “the worst storm in Florida in a century,” Joe Biden said on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a meeting with his advisers at the White House to take stock of preparations.
American astronaut Matthew Dominick also published images taken from space. A member of Expedition 72 of the International Space Station, he posted on his X account a timelapse (accelerated video) of the hurricane seen from the Crew Dragon capsule that he is using to return to earth.
“We flew over Hurricane Milton about 90 minutes ago. This is the view from the porthole of Dragon Endeavor. Expect lots of pictures from this porthole as this is where I sleep while waiting for undocking and back to Earth,” he wrote on the social network.
American authorities are increasing calls this Tuesday to evacuate before the arrival of Milton, an “extremely dangerous” hurricane which is due to make landfall during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, and which could be “the worst storm” to hit this peninsula “in a century”, according to Joe Biden.
“The entire Florida peninsula is under some form of either watch or alert,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. “You must evacuate now, it’s a question of life and death,” Joe Biden also told residents of the third most populous state in the United States. His vice-president Kamala Harris followed suit by asking residents to “take local officials seriously”.
“Devastating waves”
A sign of the seriousness of the situation, the White House announced that the president had decided not to go as planned at the end of the week to Germany and then to Angola.
The hurricane, which is moving from southwest to northeast in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to make landfall in Florida overnight from Wednesday to Thursday. Before that, “devastating waves” and a “life-threatening storm” are expected Tuesday along the northern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the NHC warned.
Climate change makes rapid intensification of storms more likely and increases the risk of more powerful hurricanes by warming sea and ocean waters, scientists say.
